Warning signs installed on turnpike where 7 died

After seven flood-related deaths in 13 years, the Kansas Turnpike Authority has installed flashing warning signs to alert motorists to the possibility of water flowing over the highway.

But by the time drivers see the flashing signs, it’s too late to get to the safest place – a rest stop.

Here’s advice on what to do.

Where

Six permanent signs – four that flash when triggered by storm monitors – are clustered around mile marker 116, where six people died in 2003, and two miles to the north at mile marker 118, where a man died this past summer. The two spots are between the Matfield Green service area and the Emporia exits.

What should motorists do?

▪ Slow down if the lights are flashing, said Kansas Highway Patrol Capt. Joe Bott, a commander for troopers patrolling the turnpike.

▪ If water is NOT crossing the highway, keep driving. “As long as you can safely go at a slow speed, I would encourage that.” Stopping along the turnpike is a last resort, because you can be struck by other vehicles.

▪ Do NOT drive into water that is standing or streaming across the highway. If you can’t see or there is water on the roadway, move to the right as far as you can and remain on the shoulder. Stay in your car, activate the flashers, and keep your seat belt on.

In an emergency, call 911 or star sign and KTA (582).

Captain’s advice

Monitor weather conditions well in advance of the areas that could flood by tuning to local weather stations or having a passenger check weather information on a cellphone. Rely on a passenger to get the weather information so you don’t get distracted while driving, Bott said. It seems that much of the bad weather along the turnpike tends to move from the south to the north, he said.

Both the Topeka and Wichita branches of the National Weather Service now include the turnpike when issuing flood and tornado warnings and will list specific mile markers.

How warning signs work

Jacob Creek and its tributary flow underneath the turnpike at mile markers 116 and 118. Flashing lights on four signs are triggered when stream monitors at mile markers 116 and 118 show the culverts, which carries the water under the turnpike, is half full.

The KTA installed a stream monitor at mile marker 118, where 21-year-old Zachary Clark of Texas died on July 10. His Ford Mustang ran into an estimated 10 inches of floodwater on the turnpike and spun into a submerged ditch as a semitrailer truck passed his car.

Other signs

The turnpike also is installing 16 digital messaging signs throughout the turnpike to alert motorists to hazards and weather warnings. That way motorists would get warnings well before mile markers 116 and 118.

Emergency dispatchers will type the messages.

Eleven of the 16 signs are fully operational, turnpike spokeswoman Rachel Bell said last week. “We are still working on signs at MM 22, 95, 106, 206 and one near K-7/Bonner Springs; these are in various stages of installation.”

The turnpike no longer uses a radio frequency to broadcast emergency messages.

Safe places to stop

There are service areas where drivers can safely exit and rest, north and south of mile markers 116 and 118: The last safe stop going north is the Matfield Green Service Area at mile marker 97. After that, there is a northbound exit at Emporia, mile marker 127. The last safe stops going south are the Emporia Service Area at mile marker 132 and the Emporia exit farther south. The service areas are accessible to north- and southbound traffic.

Improvements

By around next fall, the Turnpike Authority expects to have expanded culverts in a 20-mile stretch, including mile markers 116 and 118. The work is designed to improve drainage and help keep water off the roadway, although the Turnpike Authority said the area could still flood in heavy rains.

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 7:37 PM with the headline "Warning signs installed on turnpike where 7 died."